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Tuesday, 31 December 2013

2013 Birding Review

2013 was another record birding
year on the Warren, although no new species were added to the recording area
list, with the site list reaching an all-time high of 201 species despite a
lack of autumn seawatching or ‘Vismig’ opportunities.

Highlights included Bonaparte's
Gull, four species of American wader, Temminck’s
Stint, Red-backed Shrike, Montagu’s Harrier, Stone-curlew, Short-toed
Lark and Hoopoe. Breeding species included Shelduck, Feral Pigeon (for the first time), as well as four pairs of Herring Gull (although all unsuccessful)
and two pairs of Little Grebe, on
the downside both Ringed Plover and Coot continued to be absent.

Other low points include the
continuing decline in wintering grebes, sea duck, wildfowl and waders, with
many migrants such as Cuckoo, Whinchat, Garden Warbler and
Lesser Whitethroat again scarce, with no Grasshopper Warbler at all. Other notable absentees included Kentish Plover, Spoonbill, Sooty Shearwater
and Pochard.

Ringing returns increased considerably, in
2013 the recording group noted 117 different individual birds of 16 different
species. Putting this into some context, the 214 reads made this year account
for over 37% of all the recoveries ever made at Dawlish Warren! All of these
recoveries were read in the field. The movements noted included the first Roseate Tern recovery (from Coquet
Island Northumberland); Ringed Plover from Iceland; Curlew from Germany; Sanderling
from Greenland, Iceland and Ghana; Dunlin
from Spain, Great Black-backed Gull from Norway, France, Guernsey,
Cornwall and Portland; and Sandwich Tern from Holland, Scotland and
Wales. A more detailed account will be published online and in Devon Birds
shortly.

2013

The year started well with a Serin
briefly in Dead Dolphin Wood on New Year’s Day, the seventh site record but the
first since 1991, whilst the Bearded Tit and Black-necked Grebe both remained at the Main Pond. Other January
highlights included Woodcock, Long-tailed
Duck, another Black-necked Grebe, Water Pipit, Goosander
and Yellowhammer.

February was a quiet month with a Black-throated
Diver offshore and a couple of Water
Pipit on the flooded Golf Course the highlights

March started with a lone early Wheatear
and ended with a brief Stone-curlew,
the fifth site record and the first since 1987, mid-month there was a record
spring passage of Chaffinch, and a
site record count of Chiffchaff.
Many of these migrants were, however, struggling as the winter refused to let go
and the conditions meant there was very little insect food available.

April opened with a Hoopoe,
the first since 2004, and another brief flyby from the Stone-curlew, whilst a variety of migrants included a Long-eared Owl, Black Redstart and Firecrest
began to trickle through and a movement of Jay overhead followed on from the 2012 autumn influx. A Marsh Harrier heading north was
followed the next day by a second year female Montagu’s Harrier, the fifth site record and the first since 1979.
Passage counts for both Whimbrel and
Pale-bellied Brent Geese reached
three figures.

Both Jay and Pale-bellied
Brent Geese continued to move
through in early May, the highlight though were Roseate Tern with
numbers peaking at 20, comfortably beating the previous site and Devon record
(14 in 1958). Rarities included a returning Bonaparte’s Gull, the fourth
record of Short-toed Lark,
the third Warren record of Temminck’s
Stint, the first for 21 years and two Turtle
Dove.

June was quiet and although it was good to have a Cuckoo in residence for a change, it was probably as successful in
finding a mate as the Slavonian Grebe which completed its sixth summer on the river. Shelduck did however
breed successfully with young seen around Warren Point, although a pair even
prospected the Main Pond.

July saw returning waders and terns, although in contrast to spring Roseate Tern had a poor showing, a
flock of 400 Common Scoter gathered
to moult offshore and an early Long-tailed
Skua hinted at autumn.

A Crossbill, early in August,
turned out to be the only record of the year; wader passage picked up with
three Green Sandpiper records and
several Little Ringed Plover from
midmonth. A Pectoral Sandpiper made
a very brief stop in the Bight whilst the two Wood Sandpiper just flew over. The only Pied Flycatcher of the year was on Warren Point at the end of the
month.

September’s highlight was unfortunately suppressed, the site’s second Lesser Yellowlegs that spent a little
over an hour in the Bight, however other good birds were soon forthcoming
including the first Red-backed Shrike
since 1998, the site’s third Black Brant
and sixth Rose-coloured Starling, a Buff-breasted Sandpiper, a Wryneck and a Black Guillemot. Perhaps the most important sighting though was a
record count of House Sparrow with
154 birds at roost. An area sadly now altered and no longer suitable.

October couldn’t quite keep up the pace but three Yellow-browed Warbler, a Lapland
Bunting and three Whooper Swan,
however three frequently overlooked species all weighed in with new record
counts: Robin, Dunnock and Wren.

November lived up to its billing as one of the best birding months on
the Warren with the third White-rumped
Sandpiper (first since 1998) and fourth Great White Egret (first since 2002) turning up on the same day.
Seawatching also produced the fourth Warren Red-crested
Pochard, the first since 1999, and a Leach’s Petrel. Other highlights included a Snow and a second Lapland
Bunting, a reappearance from the Bonaparte’s
Gull, a Cetti’s Warbler and a White-fronted Goose.

December was a relatively quiet month
although a late Little Auk arrived
on Boxing Day and Spotted Redshank
finally made an appearance for the year. 2013 drew to a close with Bonaparte’s Gull, Black Brant, Long-tailed
Duck and two Velvet Scoter all
present, so here’s to a Happy New Year to all.